An Overview of Target Costing

Assuming that the company’s goal is to maximize profits, the current cost system is not an appropriate tool for strategic planning. The ambiguity of the overhead costs per product makes it difficult to accurately analyze the cause and effect relationships of changes and/or improvements to specific product line.

Profit maximisation is when firms maximise their profits through sales and increasing the price of products. Profit maximisation occurs when total sale revenue is furthest above total cost which is when MR= MC. Firms are usually controlled by the managers, in order for managers to keep its position its must gain enough or maximise the firms’ profits, so it can satisfy the shareholders. However managers may want to take a different approach rather than maximising the firms’ profits. Managers may want to maximise managerial objectives such as maximising its sales rather than profits. However although they are taking a different approach, they still must gain enough profits to satisfy the firms’ shareholders in order to avoid losing their

At the time of this case Target’s main strategic goal was to stay in line with domestically opening 100 new stores per year. The acceptance of new projects were considered on the basis of this underlying goal. NPV and IRR were key measures in the financial analysis of each project. Adherence to the capital budget was another main goal of CEC. If projects exceeded the initial budgeted outlay then the firm would have to borrow money. This could be a concern to shareholders in that it adds debt and questions the competencies of managements budgeting forecasts.

Target sells its products from the high end of the market to the low end depending on the type of product in question. In regards to Electronics items where the caption rate is small, they price their items at the high end to ensure they meet their margins. However, in regards to Target’s name brand items, they price those at the low end, keeping the company as a discounted retailer. Target also sells designer items that range from mid to high range of the market. In 2013 Targets CEO Gregg Steinhafel adopted the philosophy “a penny saved is a penny earned”. He further mentioned that they company would be a penny higher in price than their competitors Wal-Mart (Davis, M 2013). Steinhafel stated that “We want to be a penny

Explain what action a profit maximizing firm takes if marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost:

Actual costing is rarely used because managers can’t wait until the end of the year to obtain product costs. Information about product costs is needed as the year goes for planning, control, and decision making.

According to, Skills for Business Decisions, “Cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis examines changes in profits in response to changes in sales volumes, costs, and prices.” (Kimmel P.D. 2009) A company’s profit is the CVP profit equation of Profit = Revenue – Expenses. A Cost-volume-profit (CVP) analysis consists of five basic components that include:

When trying to determine the correct price, a number of factors must be considered: the market and its segments, the size of each segment, the ability to reach each segment, what distribution channels to target, whether to vary price by segment, the usefulness of promotional offerings, and whether the goal is to skim or penetrate each market.

INTRODUCTION Businesses – from manufacturing, merchandising and service industries alike – take careful consideration in the analysis of their costing systems in order to be able to set up competitive prices in the market. Misallocation of costs may lead to incorrect price estimates, continuous production of unprofitable products, and ineffective processing schedules. In this case study, we will discuss the costing methods which Zauner Ornaments have used or is currently using and, in conclusion, be able to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of each costing method. CASE CONTEXT The case seeks to assist Zauner’s comptroller, Yu Chia-yi, in determining the best costing method for their overhead costs. In addition we also aim to

As is known, pricing is one of the most important steps for business plan which needs good research, calculations and formulations. There are different pricing strategies to put into effect due to the market and product conditions, such as premium pricing, penetration pricing, economy pricing, price skimming(Voice Marketing, 2012). These four pricing strategies are main pricing policies. They form the bases for the exercise. However there are other important approaches to pricing. These pricing strategies are: Psychological pricing, product line

The strategy for setting a product’s price often has to be changed when the product is part of a product mix. In this case, the firm looks for a set of prices that maximizes its profits on the total product mix. Pricing is difficult because the various products have related demand and costs and face different degrees of competition.

During the recession in 1990, Mercedes -Benz struggled to adapt to changing markets. The luxury car market lost money for the first time in history in the 90’s. In 1993, there was a big sales slump in Mercedes-Benz sales. In its search for additional market share, new segments, and new niches Mercedes started developing a range of new products. One of the most radical and largest of the new range of products is AAV (all activity vehicles). In order to be competitive in the market, Mercedes-Benz needs to control costs and also meet the customer requirements at the same time. To achieve this goal, Mercedes-Benz adapted target costing. Is Mercedes-Benz heading in a right direction with target costing? Should they continue to use it? If

The left-hand side of this expression is the proportion of the price which is a markup over marginal cost. It is known as the “price-cost margin.” Historically, it is also known as the “Lerner Index.” The price-cost margin matters because, in the standard neoclassical model, a competitive industry prices at marginal cost. Thus, the price-cost margin can be viewed as a measure of the deviation from marginal cost. A price-cost margin of zero means that price equals marginal cost, which is the competitive solution. A price-cost margin of ½ means the marginal cost is marked up by 100 percent—half the price is markup. The formula shows that profit maximization entails a price-cost margin of 1/H. If costs are not negative, the left-hand side is not greater than one, and profit maximization entails an elasticity at least as large as one. What happens when the elasticity is less

Cost volume profit (CVP) analysis and costing for the 21st century has evolved into a very complex and difficult paradigm. Even the most gifted accountants find that grasping the entire concept of accounting for a corporation can be very mind-boggling and difficult. Yet, understanding such a fundamental principle can allow corporations to grow in ways that other, less educated, corporations can never dream to achieve and simultaneously understand the ‘bottom-line’. In this paper we will discuss value costing in the 21st century, other relevant costing methods, and the relevancy of CVP in today’s workplace.

If the profit on sales revenue is 20% then profit on cost will become 25%(20%/80%)